The Mighty and the Weak
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day two hundred and sixty-seven: Quinn has some things to tell her father, when all things are said and done.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th cycle. Now cycle 13!_

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**"The Mighty and the Weak"  
Quinn & Dad **

It had taken her a few weeks to really figure out that she needed to do this. It was not something she looked forward to though, and there was a lot of hesitation on her part. But then one day an envelope came in the mail, for him. She sighed and took it to put with the others. Her mother wouldn't even bother herself with getting them to him. She'd mark down his new address and send the mail on its merry way.

When Quinn had gone to put the envelope with the others, she'd seen the blue index card tucked under the small stack – the card with the new address on it. Her hand reached for it, and she knew what needed to be done. She'd been afraid, a little… She wasn't afraid anymore. She would finally be heard.

She didn't tell her mother about doing this. It'd been weeks now, but still every mention of her father would bring on this look in her mother… Quinn startled whenever she saw it. So she just said she was going to the mall with Brittany and Santana.

Arriving to the address, she just stood out on the sidewalk for a while, looking at the building and reminding herself of what it was she was trying to accomplish. The last time she'd seen her father, he was… master and commander of her household, and his word reigned supreme. She had no power, and she was left to run around packing her belongings before the timer bell would ring. It was not the case now, not anymore.

She wasn't going in there to yell. If anything, yelling might hurt the point she wanted to make. She was going to keep control now, because she could. Now the tables had turned.

Finally she'd gone to the door, rang the bell. When he opened the door, she had her game face already set and waiting on him. For his part, Russell Fabray stood in shock, looking into the face of his younger daughter. She didn't wait; she moved past him, into the house… apartment. Most of his things were still stacked in boxes. On a nearby table she could see a few envelopes, with the address written in her mother's neat handwriting… some of the mail she'd sent off. All in all, it was kind of pathetic… and even stranger was how she barely felt bad for wanting to laugh.

"I have a couple things to say to you," she turned to look at him. He was about to talk, but she pointed her finger. "No. No!" she lifted her voice on the second, just a bit, to keep her edge. "I've earned the right to speak, because now I don't have to listen to you anymore. But you do."

Silence hung for a moment, and she was slightly surprised that he was actually prone for listening. Her hand came back to her side. She cleared her throat.

"I wanted you to see that… I'm okay…" she breathed in, out… "Despite what you did, I'm fine. Maybe I'm better off, without you. We both are, Mom and I…" She paused. "I had the baby, gave it up for adoption. It's a girl, if that matters." He just kept on staring quietly. "I guess that's all I wanted to say… What I needed to say anyway. Bye, Dad," she moved toward the door. As she was reaching for the handle…

"Is that it?" She stopped, turned to look at him again after a moment.

"You said 'I don't recognize you at all,' that night? Funny, I could say the same of you now. The things you've done, so high up on your horse, looking down on us? You're just a hypocrite," she shook her head. "First you throw your pregnant daughter on the street because… it shames you… And then you go and cheat on your wife like that? Do you not see what's wrong with that picture? You know, maybe I can understand the need to… disassociate memory and reality. The difference between you and me is I made one mistake and you were so willing to dismiss the memory so you wouldn't have to deal with the reality, but you… You made a choice. You could have not done it, just as easily, but instead you did, and for what?" her voice rose once again, higher than the last time, and she paused, needing to rein in emotions that bubbled up… anger, devastation. "You've become this thing that's not my father, because my father wouldn't do that. My father was my hero," she lifted her chin, and she swore she saw his eyes waver.

"Quinn…" he started, but she couldn't do it.

"Do us a favor? Do your changes of address. We're done," she walked out.

She did end up going to the mall. She sat in the food court until her face no longer looked like she'd cried.

THE END


End file.
